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Government Backed Business Centre: Now is the Time to Profit from Open Source Technology

Originally Published 23 June 2003

"Open source software is now mature and cost-effective; we must now ensure that businesses profit from this opportunity" so says Martin King-Turner, open source project leader at NB2BC (the government funded National Business to Business Centre at the University of Warwick) as it launched a major new initiative to help businesses gain the benefits of open source software.

Open Source Software (OSS) is developed collaboratively by individuals, non-profit organisations, SMEs and large corporations working together on an equal basis. OSS gives users the right to modify software to suit their needs, and then redistribute their changes so that others can benefit. The software has reached such wide acceptance within the IT industry that the time is now ripe for businesses to reap the rewards. The benefits of OSS over closed source software include lower costs, better quality, higher reliability, increased choice and improved security.

The National Business to Business Centre will work on the OpenAdvantage project (www.openadvantage.org), a collaboration with The University of Central England and The National Computing Centre. The project will help West Midlands organisations to examine their individual business cases for adopting open source software and provide them with the supporting business and technical expertise in the actual adoption of OSS based products and services. West Midlands businesses will be able to take advantage of individual consultations with experts, test software and solutions in the project demonstration facilities, access an online knowledge base, and attend seminars and workshops

One of the first actions of the new programme is a Free Seminar for computer service vendors organised by OpenAdvantage on Wednesday 23rd July specifically for West Midlands computer service vendors to help increase awareness of the business opportunities offered by Open Source solutions. The event is open to all those companies who are considering, planning or already offering open source solutions to their clients, as well as those not yet aware of the potential of open source.

Note for Editors: The National Business to Business Centre was established in the University of Warwick’s Warwick Manufacturing Group to provide impartial technology advice to help companies gain real business value from the Internet. As the government funds the Centre, the services are available free of charge. More details at www.nb2bc.co.uk

For further information please contact:

Martin King-Turner – Open Source Project Leader
The National Business to Business Centre
Warwick Manufacturing Group
University of Warwick Tel: 02476 574576
email: martin.kt@nb2bc.co.uk